Douchebag

'Oh, for fuck's sake...'

The play had already begun, and both actors appeared to be quite heated.

Lindsey and the man were staring daggers into each other, and the air around them was heavy.

Suddenly, the music stopped, just in time for me to hear what the man started shouting and what my friend had to say,

"Are you crazy, bitch?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"There is nothing wrong with me. Slapping someone who acts like a fool is natural."

The youth didn't appear to like her answer as he kept on shouting, "It was just an innocent little touch! You are at a club, what did you expect?!"

Almost facepalming at the situation, I realized what had most likely gone down.

'What a fucking idiot.'

The ice queen still kept herself at a reasonable level, although it was clear that she was incredibly angry, "I expected people to act like humans and not monkeys, but maybe that was too much to ask for."

"What the fuck did you call me?!", the boy finally lost it after her insult, finally making his move towards her.

Grabbing her hand, he continued to spout bullshit, "Apologize! Get down on your knees and apologize or you will regret it!"

The already chilly froze completely, not a single person moving except for the actors.

Lindsey just looked at him, not minding his threats, "Release me. Or I will make you."

Suddenly my mind finally realized what was happening, a person I would call a friend was in trouble and I was standing here like an idiot, doing nothing.

*[Lightning Step]*

"Arrgh!"

All that could be seen was a dark blur as I blinked to them, grabbed the man's hand, and channeled a bit of my lightning into it, making him not only release her but also shout in pain.

Not minding the buffoon of a man, I looked at Lindsey, "Are you okay?"

She finally looked down at me, seemingly confused about what had just happened.

As she started to understand the situation, a slight smile started to emerge on her face, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'll fucking kill you!"

Not happy about my mediation, the man had lost it. Blue fire enveloped his hands and he dashed towards me, swinging his right hand towards my face.

'So slow...'

Just a small lean back was all I needed to dodge his clumsy attack, making his attack hit the air. Missing his attack, he quickly repositioned, jumping back as to avoid any counterattacks, which I had no intentions to make...

"You fucking little rat!"

...until he said that.

Instantly, my Battle Mode came online, and the only thought I had left was to eradicate the pest in front of me.

*Crrzzt*

My lovely snakes of purple lightning started to surround my right arm as I activated [Discharge], and prepared myself to send the fool to the next life. Just when I raised my arm, a hand landed on my shoulder.

"Miren, stop. It's not worth it."

Turning my head, I was Lindsey with what I could only interpret as an incredibly sad expression. Looking at her face turned me off completely from completing my mission.

"Tch!"

Even though she had managed to convince me that it wouldn't be a good idea to kill some random asshole at the club, which in retrospect was pretty reasonable, the youth was still seething in anger, "I'll kill you, shrimp! You shouldn't have..."A big, suited-up figure appeared behind the boy, putting his big hand on his shoulder and interrupting his little speech, "Excuse me sir, but I need you to leave the property."

The bouncer had arrived, not enjoying what was going down, but the douchebag still didn't let up, "Shut up! This is between him and..." Without letting him finish his sentence, the bouncer released his aura, pushing everyone down with his pressure. It wasn't as strong as the principal's but it was still incredibly overpowering.

"I will only say this one more time, please leave this property, or I will use force to make you."

There was nothing else to be said. The young man could only bite his tongue, as he pushed his way out of the circle and exited the facility.

"Are you guys okay?"

Weirdly enough, the bouncer walked up to us, and instead of asking us too to leave, he just wanted to make sure we were okay.

'Is this the power of influence?'

I was pretty sure that they would normally send away everyone who had been a part of the conflict, even more so as it was me who used forced first when I made him release Lindsey.

"We are fine, thank you for helping us.

The ice queen was the one to answer his question, and also bowed a bit to show respect to the man who had stopped the escalating situation. This only led to the man getting flustered, starting to wave his arms frantically, "Please stand up, little lady. I was just doing my job."

Straightening her back, she wore her signature neutral face, not showing any emotions. It was quite a funny sight to see, a big burly man profusely trying to appease a young girl.

The music started once again, and the crowd had already started to disperse and get back into party mode.

"As an apology for this shameful incident, please do accept one of our VIP tables. All expenses will be covered for tonight, so don't be afraid to let loose."

'He seriously does not want this to be heard by the public...'

It appeared that I had severely underestimated just how prestigious my title truly was. This was one of the most popular clubs in District 5, it wasn't just some random bar. I knew how expensive a single drink was here, making it obvious that they earned a lot of revenue with all these people here. But this man still wanted to make sure to not step on my toes.

Thinking about accepting his proposal, I turned to Lindsey, "What do you think Lindsey, do you want to stay for a bit?"

Having just been molested by some random creep, I didn't think she would want to stay, but contrary to my expectations she nodded in agreement, "I want to stay.

Hearing that the lady had accepted, the bouncer led us to a table on the side of the dancefloor, just like one of those I had had the luxury to sit at before, and then quickly left us to our own devices. Entering the small barrier which blocked sound was bliss, finally getting some relief from the awful dance music which consisted of 90% bass.

Lindsey's reaction was even stronger, "Woah! I can barely hear the music anymore! And what is this tablet?"

"That's what we use to order drinks and food, and then they will send a server to come out with it."

Her smile returned once more, appearing to become a more frequent expression the more we hung out, and she immediately started to play with the tablet, looking through all the drinks and snacks we could order.

After a couple of minutes, she finished her order and gave me the tablet to choose what I was having. As I looked at the tablet, I could see what she had ordered and it made my face pale a bit. She had ordered a lot, and not a lot of wine or beer, most of her orders were spirits and liquor.

Looking at the elegant lady in front of me, it was hard to believe that she, in reality, could put sailors to shame with how she drank. I just chose a bottle of whiskey, not to drink it all but just because it would be a hassle to order multiple glasses of it, and some nuts. Even if I knew she could hold her alcohol, there was no reason to at least try to mitigate the risk of her getting completely blasted.

As I raised my head from the tablet, having completed the order, I was met by an intense gaze accompanied by her neutral face, "Thank you Miren, for saving me over there. I know I should have just let it go, but it just made me so angry... Before I knew it, I had already slapped him..."

Her words might have sounded rational and sensible, but hearing her talk made me absolutely furious, making me speak coldly, "Shut up. You are talking shit."

Lindsey's face crumbled, letting me see her express feelings like an ordinary human for the first time, it was just unfortunate that it would be the expression of an incredibly sad girl, who didn't understand why I was angry at her.

I managed to cool myself off, not wanting to upset her even more. With a sigh, I explained myself, "This is not your fault, it was his. Don't apologize for reacting when someone tries to control you or use you, trust me, it doesn't end well. If it had been me in that situation, he wouldn't have left this building at all."

Her eyes lit up a bit, and her sad expression slowly started to disappear as I was talking,

"You may be strong, but everyone needs help sometimes. Don't feel guilty when your friend helps you out, it just makes them feel bad. Now, let's forget about that and get on with our night."

I raised an invisible glass in the air, mimicking the act of a cheer, as we hadn't gotten our drinks yet. Lindsey's weak demeanor fully disappeared and she also raised her invisible drink, "Yes!"

'Huh, so she can make such an expression as well...'

The ice queen in front of me finally melted, letting out the warmest and most genuine smile I had seen her do so far.